


Recompense

by ohlawsons



Series: The Karris Legacy [6]
Category: Star Wars Legends: The Old Republic
Genre: Gen, hints of eventual theron/si and lana/jk but not really enough to tag
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-12-05
Updated: 2016-12-13
Packaged: 2018-09-06 18:23:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,264
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8764039
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ohlawsons/pseuds/ohlawsons
Summary: Assaulting a Jedi temple, reclaiming the Sith Academy, uncovering a massive, galaxy-wide conspiracy -- all in a day's work for the former Cipher Nine. But that doesn't mean that she, or any of the old friends and new allies she finds herself working with, are prepared for the consequences.Will follow Forged Alliances.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is a re-write of the forged alliances fic i wrote last year. it was my first real swtor fic, and honestly was a bit of a mess. so! it's been reworked to flow better and line up better with [ostensibly](http://archiveofourown.org/works/5463530/chapters/12629852), both stylistically and plot-wise. it's also much shorter, so there'll be less focus on the in-game events we've all played through a dozen times and more focus on anything new/changed.

_Captain Adina Kartier. Currently serving on Ziost. Received commendation from Darth Arkous after the Battle of Ilum._

Lana shook her head and scrolled through the rest of the dossier. They could do better than a middle-aged soldier with a wife who taught primary school. Aside from her apparent connection with Arkous, there wasn’t anything about Captain Kartier that jumped out at Lana.

No, attacking the Jedi temple on Tython required… bigger players.

Like the Emperor’s Wrath, a charming and graceful woman who lacked the aloofness and disloyalty of her predecessor. Or the former Cipher Nine, whose identity Lana still wasn’t entirely certain she’d gotten correct, given that the agent had all but disappeared from Imperial records the previous year.

There were others, too, of course; when Darth Arkous had asked Lana to assemble a ground team, she’d put together dossiers for a half dozen potential candidates. Arkous had offered a few suggestions of his own, and Lana had added them to the file, despite not agreeing with many of them.

But Arkous was insistent, even going through the trouble of meeting with various Sith in person in an attempt to recruit them. And each time he returned, it grew increasingly easier for Lana to determine that it had been a failure.

When he returned this time, after a meeting with a fellow Dark Council member, Lana could sense his disappointment almost as quickly as she sensed the Sith himself. “Since I’ve yet to hear back from Darth Nox, I assume she won’t be joining us?” Lana looked up from her datapad as Darth Arkous entered the office, her words clipped.

Lana’s original dossiers had deliberately not included Darth Nox — she was volatile, and far too quick to act for such a delicate mission. But Arkous was fond of his fellow councilor, and had insisted on arranging a meeting with her regardless. From the looks of it, he hadn’t been successful in convincing Nox to join them.

“I’d hoped to take advantage of her hands-on approach,” he stated simply, not quite admitting that Lana was correct. “She did, however, speak quite highly of an Intelligence agent she worked with recently. Ven, I believe the name was. If memory serves, that was one of the names on your list, wasn’t it?”

Well, it seemed there _was_ a positive outcome to Arkous’ meeting with Nox.

Pulling up the information she’d collected on the agent, Lana crossed the room to where Arkous was now sitting at his desk, handing her datapad over with a sharp nod. “Agent Zaara Ven. She worked with Imperial Intelligence for several years before it was disbanded. Her… _unique_ achievements have put her in an unusual position — she declined the position as Commander of Sith Intelligence, and has since worked as an independent agent in collaboration with the Empire. Her accomplishments are quite extensive.”

Arkous scrolled through the information thoughtfully. “Assume you’re right, and this _is_ the Cipher Nine… I may be more familiar with her accomplishments than I had realized.” After a moment, he set the datapad on his desk. “She’s worked alongside the Wrath.”

“Yes.” Clasping her hands behind her back, Lana paused as she tried to recall the details. “A few years ago, on Tatooine, and more recently on Makeb. Both collaborations were extremely successful.”

“I see.”

While Arkous had only outright protested one of the names Lana had presented, Darth Evris was the only one they had both agreed on completely; as the Emperor’s Wrath, Evris seemed a natural choice to lead an ambitious strike at the heart of the Jedi. However, they’d been unable to get in contact with her. The Wrath had all but disappeared after her wedding a few weeks before — an opulent affair that had seemed to capture the attention of half the Empire. While Lana couldn’t exactly fault Evris for wanting time away, the planned assault on Tython was far more important than avoiding the public eye.

When Arkous said nothing else, Lana cleared her throat. “Shall I contact Agent Ven and Darth Evris, then?”

He dismissed her with a wave of his hand. “Leave that to me. Perhaps our agent will know the best way to get in touch with the Wrath. In the meantime, however, I’ve acquired additional information that may be vital to our success. I believe we should discuss the matter with Lord Goh.”

“Of course, my lord.”

* * *

 

“Havoc Squad can’t take Korriban. Not alone.”

Colonel Darok’s expression didn’t waver. “They’ve taken ambitious targets in the past. And we aren’t sending them in alone.”

Theron crossed his arms, frowning down at the holodisplay of the Sith Academy. The information they had on Korriban was far from detailed, but enough to effectively plan an attack.

And enough that they knew where the Dark Council chambers were.

“No, not at first. But by the time they reach the academy itself, they won’t have any backup. And that’s when they’ll need it.” He zoomed in on the display, highlighting the council chambers for emphasis. “Assuming they make it to the academy with no problems — and I’d be skeptical if we were sending anyone other than Havoc — how much of the Dark Council are we going to have to worry about?”

Darok still didn’t seem concerned. “How much of the council is even _intact_? Between Corellia and Ilum and whatever their own infighting has likely caused them, it’s surprising the Empire has accomplished _anything_ this past year,” he pointed out, circling the holodisplay and setting it back to a full view of the planned landing zone. “So unless you have a Jedi strike team that we missed the first time, that option is still out, and Havoc Squad is still our best choice.”

Theron massaged at one of his temples with a sigh; their first attempt to find a Jedi both capable _and_ willing to lead the attack had been entirely unsuccessful, but he hadn’t been quite as willing as Darok to abandon the possibility. He’d considered reaching out to the Barsen’thor — she was a friend, and was certainly more than capable of leading this sort of mission. But given her history with the Sith and her general temperament, she was more likely to tear down the Academy and possibly ruin the one chance they had to gather intel.

So he’d kept looking. “Not a strike team, exactly. But I may have the next best thing,” he revealed. “Master Cori Ven, to be exact. The name might be familiar — she led the team that infiltrated Dromund Kaas a little over a year ago. She’s gone up against the Emperor, and if that’s not enough, there’s a whole list of victories the Order’s got attributed to her.”

“Cori Ven,” Darok repeated thoughtfully, almost sounding impressed. “She _would_ be an impressive addition to our ground team. I’ll be in touch with Major Sohms to get everything worked out with Havoc, but if this Jedi is willing to work with us, I can make adjustments for that.”

* * *

 

“Well, sorry, but when I get a message saying _Call now, it’s urgent_ , I’m expecting trouble.” Leaning further back in her chair, Zaara propped her feet up on her desk, grinning up at Rei’s image on the holoterminal. “But you know me,” she teased, “just a simple servant of the Empire. I wouldn’t _dare_ ignore Darth Nox.”

“You would, and you _have_ ,” the rattataki shot back, crossing her arms. “Besides, what else was I supposed to say? Anyone else I would have asked was either busy or in the same room as me. And you know how _chatty_ Darth Zhorrid gets. I had to get her out of my office one way or another.”

Zaara raised a questioning eyebrow, but said nothing; she got the feeling that Rei’s experiences with Zhorrid were far different than her own had been. Before she could say anything further, the terminal chimed to signal a priority holocall. “I have to go,” she stated simply. “But in the future, let me know how urgent _urgent_ actually is. You had me worried the Empire was falling or something.”

“It might fall, if I have to sit through one more—”

“Goodbye, Nox.” Making a mental note to call later and ensure Rei wasn’t _too_ upset with being cut off, Zaara switched over to the new call; eyes going wide, she sat up in rigid surprise as she realized she was speaking with a second member of the Dark Council.

“Agent Ven,” the Sith greeted her. “A pleasure to meet the former Cipher Nine.”

“The pleasure’s all mine,” Zaara responded stiffly, suppressing any discomfort the title still held for her.

“Darth Nox speaks highly of you and your recent mission on Oricon, though your various exploits in the name of the Empire certainly speak for themselves.” He glanced off to the side, then returned his full attention to Zaara. “We’ve come across a rare opportunity, one that requires your expertise. The details are… sensitive, and will require further elaboration in person. However, I can assure you this is the first step in bringing the Republic to its knees.”

It took an immense amount of effort not to squirm in her seat; at one time, Zaara would’ve accepted without question, but she’d become wary of missions that operated on a need-to-know basis. “I’ll meet with you,” she agreed cautiously, “but just so we’re clear — I’m not agreeing to the mission. Not yet. I need more information before I commit.”

“Of course.” Thankfully, he didn’t seem at all upset by her hesitance. “And, Agent — I’m aware that you’re well acquainted with the Emperor’s Wrath?”

She crossed her arms. “We’re friends, yes. You want me to see if she’s interested as well?” Zaara guessed.

“Precisely. I believe it’s going to be very rewarding to work alongside you, Agent.”

With that, the holocall fizzled to an end, leaving Zaara alone and only slightly unsettled. Despite calling the Wrath a longtime friend, she hated working with Sith. It was one of the reasons she’d had no interest in rejoining Intelligence after it had been dismantled and haphazardly re-organized — the organization would eventually be used like everything else with direct Sith oversight: to be a weapon in whatever petty war the Sith were waging with themselves.

Still, the Sith weren’t all bad all the time — they had an Empire to run, after all — and Zaara’s unique position allowed her to pick and choose which of their battles she fought for them. This one, at least, seemed worthy of her time.

Standing, Zaara stretched and grabbed her jacket from where it lay on her desk before leaving her cramped office. It wasn’t much to look at, just a small room on the top floor of Lys’ apartment, but Zaara was grateful for the space regardless. The rest of the apartment was far more opulent, more befitting a Sith of her station, complete with a private landing pad and an armory and a kitchen larger than some of the places Zaara had lived.

It was a welcome change from the last place Lys had lived, a well-earned change considering all the success she’d had as the Wrath, along with _finally_ getting married. Zaara never _had_ learned what happened in the two years between the initial engagement and the wedding; she normally went to Vette for gossip on Lys, but she hadn’t wanted to elaborate on the topic and that alone was enough to keep Zaara from prying.

Zaara was halfway down the stairs to the main level and beginning to seriously consider pulling out her holocomm to call Lys when she found her in the room below, curled up on one of the couches beside Quinn, asleep. The captain was scrolling through a datapad, an ignored holovid running quietly in the background.

Leaning forward onto the railing, Zaara cleared her throat. Quinn glanced up, annoyance flashing in his eyes. “Whenever she wakes up, let her know Darth Arkous has a job for us. I have to go collect my crew.” He offered a small nod in understanding, and Zaara added, “And stop scowling, Captain. It’s unbecoming.”

* * *

 

Cori should’ve known they’d draw a crowd.

It hadn’t occurred to her, at first, considering she’d carved out time for practice nearly every day since returning to Tython, always at the same little grassy patch in front of the temple. However, she hadn’t accounted for the fact that she’d always trained with Kira or, though it was far less common, one of the other masters.

But since she had chosen Scourge as a sparring partner, their otherwise routine practice had drawn a growing group of curious Jedi — both masters and padawans, some of them children.

Cori’s training blade flared as she gave it an experimental twirl, the grip and weight of the weapon still unfamiliar despite weeks of using it. Her eyes scanned Scourge as he waited, baiting her into making the first attack. Earlier in their training session, she might have, but as it was she was beginning to tire; no one could match Cori’s skill quite like Scourge did, leaving her more tired and sore than she would willingly admit.

She was nearly prepared to give in and make the first strike when she heard T7, the droid beeping erratically as it navigated through the crowd of onlookers.

_Jedi = received holocall in chambers // Holocall = priority_

“A convenient excuse to quit, Jedi.”

Cori handed off her training blade to Kira before turning back to Scourge. “This doesn’t mean you win.”

“A draw, then?” he proposed. “Which puts us at seven each, and…”

“Forty three ties,” Kira cut in. “By my count, at least. Which — can the two of you just start over, or something?”

“The agreement was first to ten,” Cori called over her shoulder, following T7 back through the already dissipating crowd. “So, no.” She picked up her pace, heading straight to the meditation chambers that had been granted to her while she was on Tython. She accepted the call right away, smoothing her haphazard robes as the terminal sprang to life with the image of a man with cybernetics and a simple red jacket.

“Master Cori Ven. Just the Jedi I was hoping to get a hold of.”

Narrowing her eyes, Cori clasped her hands in front of her and racked her mind, trying to determine whether she should recognize him or not. “Just Cori, please. And who… what is this about?”

“I’m with the SIS,” he explained. “Probably best to leave it at that for now. We’ve got a little operation we could use your help with, if you’re up for it. We’ll have to fill you in on the details in person but, put simply, this could turn out to be the most valuable strike we’ve made against the Empire yet.”

Cori frowned; _striking at the Empire_ had been what had driven her back to Tython in the first place — to rest and rebalance herself in the aftermath of one too many battles. She had always known she’d have to go back, to continue fighting for the Republic, though she hadn’t anticipated the day would come after only a short month at the temple.

“Okay,” she decided after a moment of deliberation. Cori supposed she was as ready as she’d ever be to get back to work, anyway. “Just tell me what you need.”

“Like I said, we’ll talk more in person, but let me introduce you to the leader of the assault team you’ll be working with.”

A second person stepped into view, a heavily armed mirialan with a ponytail and an easily recognizable insignia on her armor. “Major Sohms, Havoc Squad. I’m not fond of working with Jedi — no offense — but Theron tells me you know how to get shit done.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> in which darth nox finds herself on the wrong end of an invasion, the republic tries to recover, and lana gets fired
> 
> i was hoping to get this chapter out last week, but yknow. finals.

“Get down!” With a grunt of effort, Rei sent Harkun’s desk flying across the room, effectively barring the door as a beige-robed twi’lek ran by. She whirled to face the overseer and the gathered acolytes, lightsaber already in hand. “Jedi.” She almost spat the word, the _wrongness_ of their presence on Korriban making Rei’s skin crawl.

There was blaster fire, and as quickly as she had registered the sound, Rei had projected a thin Force barrier over the open doorway. The bolts bounced off harmlessly, but it wasn’t a defense she could hold long.

She turned to Harkun. “Keep them here. Keep them safe. And if you die, I will bring you back just to finish this argument.” Without waiting for a response — Harkun knew better than to cross her so openly — Rei darted over the desk lodged in the opening of the door, lightning sparking at her fingertips and already beginning to arc out at the Republic soldiers.

As satisfying as it was to have such weak and susceptible soldiers throwing themselves at her, Rei was too distracted to really _enjoy_ it; her simple trip to Korriban to check up on her favorite overseer had been interrupted by an attack by the Republic, and it was really ruining her day.

“Spare a minute?” In one fluid movement, Rei slammed into a Jedi that was rushing towards her, pressing him against the wall of the hallway and wrapping one gloved hand around his throat. He struggled against her, but Rei kept him inert through the Force, her power easily overcoming his. He was so young — no older than Rei had been when she’d first arrived at the Academy. And yet, she suspected he wouldn’t have been a match for her even then.

That was the problem with the Jedi — they were taught to die for their Order, whereas the Sith were taught to kill for theirs.

“Why are you here?” Rei leaned forward as she spoke, rather than raise her voice to drown out the sounds of battle that echoed around them. “Do you even know, or are you just following orders like a good little Jedi?” She loosened her hand on the human’s throat, just enough that he could speak.

“We’re here to rid the galaxy of its greatest threat.”

“ _Typical_.” As the Jedi continued to fight her hold, Rei released him, igniting her saber as she did and slicing a neat arc through his torso. Leaving the body, she made her way back to Harkun’s office, picking off the occasional soldier that had made it past her the first time. There hadn’t been many soldiers or Jedi to begin with; Harkun’s office was deep in the east wing of the Academy, far removed from the main halls, where Rei assumed the majority of the Republic forces were located.

Rei lumbered somewhat ungracefully over the desk in the doorway to the office, her movement hindered by the lofty robes she wore; the fitted chestpiece and skirt had always been more about appearance than practicality, and, given that she really only wore them at the Academy or the Citadel in Kaas City, she hadn’t ever imagined she’d be _fighting_ in them.

“Mostly clear,” she reported as she re-entered the office, expecting Harkun but finding only the group of acolytes. “I’m going to kill him one day, I swear.”

One of the acolytes, a thin mirialan who was the only one in the group without even a training saber, stepped forward. “Some of the overseers are trying to secure the library on the third floor,” she explained. “Harkun went to join them.”

“Of course he did.” A menagerie of aliens and former slaves who’d all been passed over by the other overseers and lords — why _would_ Harkun stay to protect them? Rei found herself scowling at the non-present overseer, and refocused her rage towards planning. “You’ll all come with me, then. We’ll have to get upstairs to my office so I can make a few holocalls.”

She knew Soverus, at least, was still at the Academy — she’d spoken with him shortly before meeting with Harkun — and Rictus had been around that morning. The rest of the Council was off-planet, but Rei assumed it would be wise to contact some of them as well. With any luck, they could form a retaliation force to at least push the Republic out of the Academy itself.

But first things first — they had to make it to Rei’s office.

It was only a short trek to one of the elevators, and luckily the second floor had fared far better than the first. Rei wasn’t any good as an instructor, but she watched the acolytes as they fought, offering the occasional comment or criticism as needed. The group made it to Rei’s office with few injuries and only one casualty — a nautolan with embarrassingly clumsy combat skills — and Rei quickly confirmed that while Rictus had left, Darth Soverus was making a stand in the Council chambers.

When Rei couldn’t reach Vowrawn — her first attempt at calling for assistance — she tried for a more logical approach and contacted one of the Councilors capable of sending large-scale military reinforcements, opting for Darth Arkous’ optimism over Marr’s grim stoicism.

“Ah, Darth Nox,” the Pureblood greeted, offering a sincere smile as he placed his hands behind his back. “I wasn’t expecting to hear from you until next week, at least. I’m afraid I—”

“This isn’t about Council business,” Rei cut him off. “The Academy on Korriban is under attack. Soverus and I are both here, but there’s too many troops and Jedi for us to hold any ground. We need assistance.”

Arkous’ eyes widened before his expression twisted into one of rage. “Defilers,” he seethed. “ _Jedi_ on Korriban. I’ll send reinforcements immediately. Make them _pay_ , Nox.”

“I plan to.” As the holocall blinked out, Rei re-entered the frequency for the Council chambers, hoping to update Soverus on the situation and coordinate a plan of action in the meantime. But instead of the councilor, it was a togruta’s image that appeared on the terminal. She was clearly a Jedi, and stood with so much poise and assuredness that it was insufferable. “Where is Soverus?”

“He chose to stand against us,” the Jedi said, confirming Rei’s fears. “If you’re also here in the Academy, I ask that you don’t take the same course of action.”

Rei’s brow furrowed, and she crossed her arms as she stared down at the Jedi. “Leave it to a Jedi to attempt a peaceful invasion,” she sighed, cutting the transmission before turning back to the group of the acolytes. “Anyone who’s pride demands that they go out and fight rather than stay holed up in my office, feel free to leave. If you’re willing to take the hit to your ego and live, you’re welcome to stay. But as soon as the reinforcements arrive,” she added, “I expect you all to join them and tear those Jedi apart.”

* * *

 

Cori was no stranger to war. Few Jedi were.

But this was different; seeing Tython reduced to rubble and flames, surrounded by more Jedi dead than alive, Cori had been shaken in a way she hadn’t been in a long time. There had always been a sense of _safety_ about the temple on Tython, even with the threats it had faced and the war that raged throughout the galaxy, and that safety had been shattered so violently that Cori couldn’t help but wonder if it would ever go back to the way it had been before.

There hadn’t been time for meditation or contemplation or even just a moment to take it all in. Cori and Kira and Rusk had joined Havoc Squad in liberating the temple, only to be met with cryptic messages from the Sith and the corpses of too many Jedi that Cori had known or even called friend. But there had been a sense of _wrongness_ about the whole thing, and they were halfway back to reporting in to Darok on the fleet before she could pull herself from her grief to think it all over.

It hadn’t even been a full day after receiving the first message from Theron that Cori had been contacted by her sister. The fact that Zaara had called hadn’t been odd itself; in the two years since they’d re-established contact, Zaara had made a habit of occasionally checking up on the wellbeing of her younger sister, even if the calls were often rushed and filled only with vague reassurances that they were each fine.

But this time had been different — Zaara had been more adamant than usual about learning what Cori was up to, only satisfied when Cori finally admitted that she would soon be leaving Tython for a new mission.

Now, looking back, Cori was left with a sour taste in her mouth as she considered the possibility that her own sister had been responsible for the damage to her home. And, of course, that wasn’t even _touching_ the strangeness of the Sith that had been on Tython.

And yet, despite Cori’s questioning at the entire situation — and Major Sohms’ far more adamant protests — Colonel Darok seemed unconcerned. _We’ll look into it, but your roles in this are over_ , he’d claimed, and though Cori hadn’t sensed any deception that didn’t mean it wasn’t there, well-hidden amongst the confidence in their victory and annoyance at their persistence.

Theron, at least, had listened to both Cori and the Major, turning a round of celebratory drinks into an excuse to further discuss the oddity of the mission. Major Sohms and her weequay lieutenant were already several drinks in by the time Cori arrived, sitting at one end of the bar and talking loudly enough to be clearly heard over the band. Captain Jorgan sat with Theron at a table near the back, both with a mostly untouched glass in front of them.

Kira headed for the bar as they entered the cantina, offering to bring back an extra drink. Cori slipped through the crowd to join Jorgan and Theron, greeting them as she sat in one of the remaining empty seats. “You wanted to discuss… Tython,” she asked, hesitating, the word still feeling too heavy when she spoke.

“Davri’s pissed,” Jorgan informed her before Theron had a chance to answer. “None of this makes any sense, and we’re not in a position to do anything about it. Theron’s got some ideas, but you can’t tell me the Jedi wouldn’t want to get to the bottom of this?”

Cori smoothed her robes almost reflexively, collecting her thoughts and carefully debating how to answer. “The Jedi have a lot to consider at the moment. Rebuilding Tython and caring for the survivors will take time and resources that are already strained by the war. I—”

“All due respect, Master Jedi,” Jorgan interrupted flatly, “we’re not looking for the diplomatic answer.”

Theron sighed, leaning back in his chair and crossing his arms. “It doesn’t matter either way. This is something we have to investigate a bit more discreetly than demanding help from the Jedi.”

“As I was going to say,” Cori continued, “I don’t think the Order itself can offer much, but I would be more than willing to look into this, whether alone or with all of you.” In truth, all she wanted to do was to return to Tython and assist with the cleanup efforts there, but that was a job that could be left to other Jedi if Cori was needed elsewhere. “Do we even know if Darok was connected or… involved with the Imperials?”

“Nothing solid yet,” Theron admitted. “But there’s a lot that doesn’t add up — like the timing of the attacks, or the fact that, as far as I can tell, the Sith took the same sort of artifacts from Tython that we were after on Korriban. And all this great intel we were supposed to get from the Academy?” He shrugged. “None of it’s been turned over to the SIS yet.”

“Then let’s go get it.” Kira set down two glasses as she joined them at the table, pushing one over to Cori. “I mean, that’s what we’re here for, right? Expose the bastards that let the Sith onto Tython?”

Cori inspected the water that Kira had brought for her before taking a sip. “I don’t think it’s quite that simple.” She glanced up at Theron for confirmation.

“Actually, it might be, if you’re all willing to see this through. I’ll see what I can dig up on Darok and contact you when I have a lead.” Theron paused, frowning and fidgeting in his seat a bit. “I just had to make sure we’re all on the same page here. If Darok’s part of some conspiracy…”

“There’s no telling how far up this thing goes,” Jorgan finished, glancing over at the major for a moment before sighing. “We sure picked a hell of a time to get Havoc back in the field.”

* * *

 

“Don’t worry, it’s secure.”

Lana glanced up to find Zaara leaning against the doorway of the ship, amused, watching with her arms crossed as Lana inspected the interior of the agent’s ship. She hadn’t really been _too_ worried about Zaara’s security measures, given her experience in Intelligence, but that didn’t keep the entirety of Lana’s suspicions at bay.

“I’ll admit to a certain degree of paranoia,” Zaara continued, pushing off of the doorway to join Lana where she stood near the central holoterminal. “It comes with being a spy.”

She nodded. “Understandable.”

“Now, are you going to tell me where we’re headed? I’m inclined to trust you, given our little chat after Korriban, but it only goes so far.”

Frowning, Lana clasped her hands behind her back and turned to face Zaara. She had a point — Lana _had_ been intentionally cryptic in relaying information; like Zaara, she was inclined towards trust, but the situation had become a bit more complicated when Darth Nox had returned with Zaara and Darth Evris. Nox had made an admirable stand at the Sith Academy, but her anger at the Republic made her too impulsive and volatile to trust, and the situation was already delicate enough.

“How much do you know about Manaan?”

Zaara’s brow furrowed, and her lips pressed together in a thin line as she thought. “Enough. Primarily a neutral world, the main supplier of kolto, lots of selkath. This… _presence_ in the Force you mentioned before — it’s leading you to Manaan?”

“Not quite,” Lana admitted, the corner of her mouth quirking upwards into a hint of a smile. “Arkous recently secured transportation to Manaan, shortly before informing me that he no longer requires my services. Upon further investigation, I discovered that he’s been in communication for several months with a private research lab near the capital. I believe that’s his intended destination.” The smile disappeared as Lana spoke, replaced by a grimace; she hadn’t paid any attention to Arkous’ messages to Manaan before, given the planet’s importance to the war effort, but in hindsight she was certain they should’ve stood out.

But Zaara seemed re-energized by the new information, beginning to pace as she ran through a dozen questions and theories and plans. Lana answered as best she could — after all, as Arkous’ advisor she _had_ been given access to most of his business until quite recently — and Zaara eventually seemed satisfied, her pacing coming to a stop in front of the main holoterminal as she planted her hands on her hips.

“I think you’ve got the right idea,” she announced, voice filled with more confidence than Lana thought was strictly warranted in the given situation. “We follow Arkous, see what he’s up to, and contact the Wrath once we’re ready to confront him. I have to say, Miss Beniko, I think you have the makings of a spy in you.”


End file.
